The San Francisco 49ers were able to land Trent Williams in a trade during the 2020 NFL Draft after talks with the Minnesota Vikings fell apart. While speaking about the trade, Williams claimed that San Francisco was his preferred destination.
“I’m extremely excited to get back in the building with, not only Kyle, but there’s a ton of those coaches in there from the first four years of my career,” Williams said in a conference call with beat reporters Thursday, via Matt Maiocco of NBCSportsBayArea.com. “It’s going to be a happy reunion.
“This was a preferred destination of mine just because of the familiarity I have with Kyle and the offense. Obviously, it being an ascending team, I feel like I’ll fit right in.”
Before being traded to the 49ers, Williams was communicating with the Vikings on a possible trade. However, Minnesota didn't view him as a long-term option and decided to draft Ezra Cleveland instead. Even though there were reports of Williams denying a trade to Minnesota, he quickly refuted them.
“The Vikings, long term, and what I looked at long term, it didn’t synch up,” Williams said. “They just really dropped out. It wasn’t me refusing to go.”
Nevertheless, Williams gets to reunite with Kyle Shanahan and join a team that is coming off of a Super Bowl appearance. At the same time, he'll be filling the void that is left by Joe Staley's retirement. On the same day that Williams was traded to the 49ers, Staley retired from the NFL after 13 seasons.
Since before the 2019 season, Williams was longing to find a way to leave the Washington Redskins. After over a year of waiting, Williams finally got his wish, and he gets to play for the team he preferred all along.
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